The path to Havenfield was lit with jars of moonlight, and glowing algae that smelt a little like feet. Flickerwings fluttered about the plants and around Sophie as she walked along the path guided by the light. The light led her to Calla's tree, the breathtaking form she had decided to take to save her people and countless others. Fitz, in a dashing vest and dress pants with a brown tie, stood underneath the pink petals, waiting for her.

Sophie couldn't help but smile. It was finally happening. When she first saw Fitz, she would never think in her wildest dreams that she'd be standing in front of him the way she was now.

Hello Fitz, she transmitted, unsure that her mouth would be able to form words correctly.

He grinned. Hello Sophie. Cat got your tongue?

Sophie blushed, yet nodded all the same.

Come on, I haven't changed since yesterday. We're still friends, cognates....

Sophie let out a little laugh. Sorry, I'm just a little nervous.

He gave her a sly smile. Ah, because of that thing you won't tell me about... well, if you can't talk yet, why don't we start with dinner? He gestured to the table underneath the tree, set with lit candles, and two plates of spaghetti.

You got human food? Sophie asked, a little surprised. She hadn't expected Fitz to go out of his way to learn human customs, or to even get human delicacies.

There's a lot more where that came from. Fitz said as he set a basket of breadsticks on top of the table.

Sophie smiled. This date was already perfect.

However, spaghetti proved to be a difficult food to eat with proper manners. It was long and messy, and Sophie felt a little piece of her die inside when a saucy noodle fell onto her dress. Although it seemed like Fitz was having just as many problems - Sophie laughed when he smeared tomato sauce onto his cheeks.

You missed a spot, Sophie transmitted.

Fitz raised an eyebrow playfully. Did I? Gosh, this is so embarrassing.

You're fine, it's just as embarrassing for me, Sophie responded. Here. She sent him a picture of what his face looked like so he knew where to wipe off the sauce.

Wow, that looks really bad, Fitz thought. I'm surprised you're still here.

Sophie laughed. "There's nothing you could do that would make me run away."

"Ah, so we're finally onto talking out loud," Fitz smiled. "And I think I may change your mind on that after tonight."

"Are you kidding?" Sophie said. "Not even becoming a member of the Neverseen would make me give up on you."

"Yeah, I've noticed," Fitz said. "But what about this?"

Fitz lifted a heavy, metal box onto the table. It took Sophie a second to recognize what it was.

"Is that a boombox?" Sophie asked in disbelief.

"Scared away yet?" Fitz asked.

"Quite the opposite, actually," Sophie said.

Fitz hit the play button, and one of Sophie's old, favorite human songs began to play - Just the Way You Are by Bruno Mars. 

"How did you know?" Sophie asked.

Fitz grinned. "I may have asked Dex to get a song or two from your human music player."

"How romantic," Sophie joked.

"Hey, it's not like I could read your mind and... oh, wait-"

Sophie cracked up. "It's fine."

The music continued playing in the background while Sophie waited for Fitz to respond. He looked like he wanted to ask her something, but was trying to find the words for it. Sophie could hear her heart beating in anticipation.

"Would you like to dance?" Fitz asked.

"Yes, of course," Sophie said, getting into the elvin formal position for slow dancing.

"No- I'd.... I'd like you to teach me how to slow dance the human way."

Sophie smiled at how nervous Fitz was. It wasn't every day that Wonderboy himself seemed nervous or didn't know how to say something.

"Well, first you put your hands here," Sophie said, directing his hands to her hips. "And I put my hands here." She placed her hands on his shoulders, trying not to focus on the height difference.

"And then..." Fitz asked, drawing closer to Sophie.

"We move like this," She said, trying not to blush at her incredibly close proximity to him. They moved as gracefully as a waterfall, dancing among the moonlit jars and glowing algae. There were no words needed - just a lot of "staring into each other's eyes" as Keefe would say.

"Hey Sophie," he whispered, not taking his eyes off her. "What was that one thing you wanted to tell me the last time we were here?"

At one time, that question would have freaked Sophie out of her mind. In fact, many times she imagined him asking she had imagined herself running away and never coming back to face him. But now, in the moonlight, in this dress, in his arms....

Her chest felt tight. "I wanted to tell you... that I like you. I really really like you."

Fitz gave her a gentle smile. "I think I like you too."

In one smooth movement, he leaned closer, and their lips met. The kiss was as sweet as Sophie had thought it would ever be. She felt relief and joy rushing through her veins and to her heart, and felt as if she had the energy to jump to the moon and back. With him at her side.

As the song came to an end, Fitz set himself down on the grass. Sophie followed. They laid next to each other, watching the stars and basking in silence together.

"Hey Sophie," he whispered, reaching for her hand. "I'm really glad I met you."

"I'm really glad I met you too," Sophie said, squeezing his hand. "It seems weird to think that I could still be living with humans..."

"I'm glad that I didn't let those gorgeous brown eyes stop me from finding out who you really were," he said, his voice slower and more peaceful. "Or I would have walked away from the girl of my dreams. The girl I had been searching for-"

"And I'm glad you chased me down and showed me who I really was," Sophie said. "Otherwise I'd be living a sad, lonely lie."

Fitz gave her a smile that melted her heart. "You know, I was always so worried about the matchmaking process. How could a handful of elves know who the best girls were for me? What if I met all five hundred of them and didn't like them? Or what if I did fall in love with one, and she was only in love with my name... and not me? After living with the Vacker legacy, it's easy to see that people will kiss-up to you or flat out hate you for it. But with you...." His eyes shone when he looked back at Sophie. "With you, I know that you love me for me. You didn't fall in love with my talent, or my looks, or my last name, you just loved me for who I was. Even when I've been a huge jerk to you."

Sophie smiled. "I used to be scared of this whole elf thing. But you were one of the people that helped me through it. You helped me when I broke down about leaving my family. You helped me face Elwin, even though there was nothing for me to be scared about. And even after I was settled, you've been an awesome support and Cognate. I couldn't have asked for someone better."

Fitz laughed. "I can think of a whole list of elves who are better," he said.

"Trash it," she said. "All I could ever care about is you."

Hushed whispers and held hands and gentle kisses accompanied them for the rest of the night. At one point their mouths stopped moving and their eyelids drooped, and they fell asleep underneath Calla's tree, their hands still linked together. In that moment, everything was calm. There were no disrupting Keefes, no jealous girls, no legacies, no worries, no secret organizations, and nothing that could stop them from loving each other. It was only them, and the perfect date.

AN: Ahhh! I thought I'd update the last part to celebrate my winnings in the Scholastic Writing Awards! (Which, if you're an aspiring author, you should TOTALLY participate in).
That's it guys! Sorry I've been so low on producing fanfics for you guys, things have gotten so crazy! I hope you enjoyed this short fanfic about Sophie and Fitz's first date! (*A disclaimer: this was not my idea of what their first date should be - it was written for what my secret santa wanted - a moonlit picnic and dancing!*)